Up to £13 million for new nuclear technologies

8th January 2014

As the nuclear renaissance gathers pace, the NDA has again joined with other public bodies to open up opportunities for UK businesses, offering a total of up to £13 million investment for new technologies covering new build, current operations and decommissioning.

The collaboration between the UK innovation agency the Technology Strategy Board, the NDA and the Department of Energy and Climate Change is aimed at helping UK-based businesses take advantage of the opportunities arising following the recent agreement on Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK for almost 20 years.
The funds will be made available early in 2014 as part of a drive to grow a robust, sustainable UK supply chain through the development of innovative products and services for the nuclear sector. The initiative will focus on key technology areas such as construction, manufacturing, operation, maintenance and decommissioning and waste.

Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said:"We are committed to nuclear power as part of the low carbon mix of our future energy supply. And through our nuclear industrial strategy we are working in partnership with industry to grasp the multi billion pound long-term opportunities for UK companies and for thousands of highly skilled jobs.
"This funding will help UK companies to compete for contracts in areas like construction, manufacturing, operation, maintenance and decommissioning and waste. We want to build a robust UK based supply chain for existing and future nuclear power stations."
Melanie Brownridge, the NDA's Head of Research and Development, said:
"This continues a collaborative drive initiated more than 18 months ago that is already delivering significant innovative technological progress. We rely on a vibrant, dynamic supply chain and are pleased to invest in future capability."

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board, added:"This country has strengths in a wide range of technologies that will contribute to our growing domestic civil nuclear programme as well as taking advantage of significant global market opportunities. We will be focussing our support to ensure that UK businesses have the opportunity to engage fully in these programmes."
In 2012, £18 million was invested in nuclear Research and Development through a partnership between the TSB, NDA, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The 35 projects, which received funding following a competitive submission process are ongoing and include a wide range of innovative UK SMEs, large businesses and research institutes.

The new competition will focus on the technologies needed for Britain's new fleet of power stations, but will also include further opportunities for developing innovation for existing stations and decommissioning programmes.

Further Information
The competition is open to all sizes of businesses and research organisations who may already be engaged in the nuclear sector or who are considering entering this growing market for the first time.
The competition has 2 strands:
Up to £10m is available for Collaborative R&D projects
Up to £3m is available for Feasibility Study projects
There are 5 technology themes which are applicable to both strands of the competition and apply to both new build and existing nuclear power plant.
Construction, installation and commissioning
Operation and maintenance
High Value Manufacturing
Decommissioning and waste management, including storage
Open theme (e.g. includes Small Modular Reactors)
It is envisaged that the competition will attract numerous cross-cutting and innovative technologies that could be developed or adapted for the above themes from areas such as:
materials
processing and joining
NDE
condition monitoring
robotics
remote handling
sensors
electronics
chemistry and many others.
We welcome and encourage technology transfer proposals from other sectors.
More details of the Collaborative Research and Development competition
More details of the Feasibility study competition
Follow the above links for:
full competition brief, key dates and guidance for applicants documents
registration for brokering events at Manchester (21 January) and Penrith (12 February) where you can look for and meet potential partners from large and small businesses and academia and briefly present your project ideas.You will also hear from the nuclear sector about their R&D needs and SMEs who will share their experience of working with the TSB and showcase their innovation from previous projects.

Registration for a competition briefing event in London (or live by webinar) on 19 March where you will hear full details of the scope of the competition, the application process and how to maximise your chances of success.

We recommend all potential applicants to attend these events wherever possible. It is particularly important that people attend the Competition Briefing event as funding rules have recently changed and are more attractive for businesses, particularly those working with research organisations.

Registration places for all events are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis.